Tag Archives: Theda Bara

As close to a living Edward Goreycharacter as you are likely to find, and had that good man written plays or novels, she would have been one of the characters. No matter. She was first and foremost a visual creature and therefore perfect for his metier. Tall (nearly six feet), thin, green eyed, decorated with living snakes and accompanied by a pet leopard (this years before Harrods sold such things to the chic young things of 1960’s London). She was a muse, and subject for a seeming all of the top visual artists of the first half of the twentieth century.

The pictures are beguiling, the stories are irresistible. Her employment of servants who were clad in gold leaf and little else. Her use of live snakes as a fashion accessory. The pet cheetahs on a leash decades before that became fashionable. The dinner parties where empty seats were filled with wax dummies (though it is hard to believe that she could not fill a dinner party as large as she liked if she wanted to). Couture clothing, jewelry, artwork, books, constant travel and a collection of high end real estate in the most exotic cities of Europe. Continue reading →